Calling all public pool fans

Did you know that our lovely island community has never had a public pool? I ran into my friend Kathy Tiernan at the Galveston Island Beach Review last weekend who was telling me how fundraising efforts were coming along to provide a public pool, and how important itis for us all.

Construction of the pool will begin when fundraising is completed. The organization is at 56 percent of their goal. The Galveston Association of Realtors® is strongly committed to this pool and has organized its own fundraiser. The Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan (Master Plan) adopted by City Council on March 22, 2012 states, “Constructing a city pool (and several splash pads) would be a signiicant step towards meeting the needs of the community.”

A community pool addresses health, well-being and safety issues while also offering jobs, job training and a sense of community to everyone in Galveston. It provides a venue for many of our children and adults to learn to swim, for our seniors and others to participate in water aerobics and lap swimming. A community pool increases public amenities to compete with neighboring cities and demonstrates that Galveston cares about its citizens. The pool will assist in attracting and retaining families on the island. It’s a win-win.

Lasker Park at 43rd and Ave Q will be the location of the pool. Sixty two percent of the population and 69 percent of children under the age of 18 live within two miles of Lasker Park. It is one block from the Boys and Girls Club, Ball High School and Galveston College.

After the pool is constructed the City Parks and Recreation Department will operate and maintain the facility. The first implementation priority in the Master Plan is constructing a pool and the top programming priority is Swimming Lessons.

Priority 1 – Swimming Lessons: Due to the City being an island community and the fact that there is not currently a community pool, there is an expressed need for swimming lessons for all age groups. “

USA Swimming, the National Governing Body for swimming in the US, says,
• Ten people drown each day in the US and three of them are children.
• African-American children drown at a rate that is nearly three times higher than their Caucasian peers.
• Sixty to 70 percent of Hispanic and African- American children cannot swim.
• Participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent for children.

Better Parks for Galveston, a non-profit organization, has been created to assist in fundraising eforts.